I’m starting to regret all the times I wished for adventure. All the times I imagined myself thrown into danger. In my mind, I was strong, a hero. Someone who knew what they were doing and defeated the bad guys. In reality, I’m a sixteen-year-old kid armed with what feels like world’s smallest knife, and I don’t have the first idea how to get out of this situation alive, let alone victorious.
The creature is well over six feet and it carries a dark sword. Its body is made up of charred flesh and flames with seemingly nothing holding it together. How it’s even standing is beyond me, but if the flames hurt it, it doesn’t show it. Both of its eye sockets are hollow, and its twisted jaw is connected to a large gaping mouth which unhinges to reveal its countless rows of jagged razor-sharp fangs that drip with a green steaming ooze, that melts the ground as soon as it hits. It smells like death and brings with it an unnatural chill.
I swallow hard, looking frantically around me for something to use to shove the creature back to wherever the fuck it came from. I’m too late. The opening closes the rest of the way, trapping us with the creature. It steps forward with a roar that sends icy fingers of fear running up my spine. Before I can step back, it slaps me with the back of its hand, and I’m blinded by pain as I go hurtling through the air.
My head smashes into on a rock breaking my fall. Of course it does, it’s just my luck. The back of my head tingles as warm blood oozes down it. I’m dizzy and when I try to sit up am overwhelmed with nausea as the pain of my landing travels though my body. I feel winded and I try to suck in a breath. I manage to get some air in, but it’s raspy and it leaves me gasping. I try to ignore the pain and manage to half sit up. A few yards away, the creature zeros in on the woman again.
I watch in amazement as she holds her hands out and sends a gold current rushing from her fingers into the creature’s chest. Gold sparks crackle around her fingertips. The creature cries out, wounded and enraged. She attacks again but this time the beast is prepared. It shields itself with its sword and manages to deflect the current. Before the woman can fire again, the creature growls and leaps forward to finish her off. Its claws cut through the air, seconds away from scooping out her insides.
I can’t let that thing kill her. I can’t fail to save a life - not again. I stumble to my feet and hurl myself in front of the woman; Time slows down. And when the creature’s claw comes down, it slices right through my chest.
Fiery agony fills my whole body and I can hear the air whistling through the set of slashes, an almost guaranteed death sentence on my chest. My knees buckle and I tumble to the ground. My time as a hero it seems is pretty short lived. I was never meant to be the hero. I’m the bit part character that gets killed off in the first chapter.
The woman screams as if she knew me. She side steps my body as I remain on my knees, watching. She positions herself between me and the creature and she fires another current at the creature. The creature turns its attention to her, easily deflecting her shot and it steps closer, with a deep monstrous roar. She fires again, but this time, the current is growing weaker as it turns blue then, almost grey as it fizzles out and doesn’t even reach the creature. She’s weak, too weak to beat it. The creature circles her, sensing that she is almost beaten.
She doesn’t give up though. She circles too, trying to keep me shielded from its wrath. She holds fire, and I’m hoping that she is rebuilding her strength, getting ready to launch an attack with more vigor.
As I watch her battling, I can feel my blood running freely from my wound and my breathing is getting more labored, but when the woman fires another blue flash at the creature, it’s brighter than the last one, and her resolve gives me hope.
The blast reaches the creature. It doesn’t kill him, but it does knock his sword from his hand as he attempts to use it to block the shot. I stretch for the sword. Maybe if I can get it, I can help somehow. The sword is just out of my reach. I try to crawl toward it, but it’s like my legs are no longer a part of me. My brain commands them to move, but they ignore the command. I am frozen in place, too weak to move.
The creature roars, angry she disarmed it. It closes the gap between itself and the woman and grabs here in its large hands. It lifts her off feet and slams her into a tree next to where I’m barely kneeling. It releases it hold on her and she slides to the ground. There’s blood running down her forehead as she locks eyes with me, nodding toward the sword.
“I can’t reach it.” I croak, coughing with each word, as I try again, forcing my arm to stretch further than it should. I feel a new wave of warm blood soak me as I drag the claw marks on my chest further open.
The creature is charging us. This is it. This is how I will die. I’m sorry dad, I think to myself.
She moans with pain as her fingers inch towards me. She signals for us to join hands. We are going to die together. I stretch my
